Just wondering what the best way would be to preserve and display a dead tarantula. Just had a male die who was in particularly beautiful condition, so would like to make a feature of him. Sorry to all those who find this a bit morbid but he was a stunner!!

Regards
Kelly

Richard Gallon

21-01-04, 02:20 PM

Hi,
For display I'd recomend drying him out on a board. If his abdomen is small all you need do is arrange his legs in a good pose (pins on a piece polystrene is ideal) and put him on a heatmat or in an airing cupboard for a couple of days.

Once he's dried out you can mount him with glue in a display box.

If he's got a fat addomen it's best to remove the contents first and replace them with a ball of cotton-wool. It takes some skill to get the abdomen back into shape (you also have to avoid getting any of the abdominal contents on his skin as this will mess it up).

An even better way (but slower) is to freeze-dry him. Arrange him as before and leave him in the freezer (not covered over). After a few months he will be ready for mounting. You don't have to remove abdominal contents using this method.

Another way is to preserve him in a jar-jar of 75% alcohol (not really good for display).

Tom McArdle

04-03-06, 02:01 PM

Using the freezer method, After you have taken him out of the freezer would the Tarantula not start to stink after a few days?????

Regards: Tom.

http://www.freewebs.com/tarantulatom/

Adam Smith

04-03-06, 09:28 PM

Me personallyI have a male A Brockelhursti and when he died I put him in a plastic container and filled it up with whiskey (or scotch) and hasa been in perfect condition with only a few particles of substrate that had drifted into the alcohol. This works but its not great for visability as when you pick it up and try to look it swirls round. The first idea is good and may use that myself in future thanks. :wink:

Richard Gallon

06-03-06, 11:56 AM

Using the freezer method, After you have taken him out of the freezer would the Tarantula not start to stink after a few days?????

Regards: Tom.

No, because this method removes all the moisure from the spider. The frozen liquid in the spider's tissues sublimate, leaving a dried out husk, which retains its shape. However, you must ensure that all the ice has sublimated from the spider before you remove it to room temperature :wink:
Richard

Ray Hale

06-03-06, 05:11 PM

The airing cupboard eh Richard. I bet your popular.

personally I mount them on a piece of card in the position I want and then cover them over with a plastic box. I then put them in the Greenhouse for two weeks, before mounting them in a sealed case.

a word of warning though, dont froget to tell you father or grandad that you have put it in there. :D

ray

Layla McInnes

06-03-06, 05:49 PM

a word of warning though, dont froget to tell you father or grandad that you have put it in there. :D

ray

Now there is an idea :lol:

Larry Loos

24-04-06, 03:31 PM

One method that can be used quite sucessfully is the clear plastic sold in hobby stores. It takes a bit of experimentation to get right but works quite well. You've seen scorps and the likes made into bolos and desktop paperweights using this very same material. Use a small paint brush to help remove the bubbles and work slowly.
The effects can be quite rewarding. Expect some failures at first. Try preserving some small bugs of some type to begin with until you get the process down.

This is one way to make a impressive display and mount your dead tarantula. One key is that you cannot have any body fluids on the exoskeleton that might cause deterioration of the exoskeleton or it will decompose even inside the plastic. Additionally, this material is hot so working with it can also destroy the very animal you are trying to preserve. This takes a few trys to get it down pat but does work if you keep at it and, the rewards are quite satisfactory.